Apply environment lighting overrides

What are environment lighting overrides?

In this software, the lighting of a surface is determined in the following ways:

Environment image-based lighting (IBL), as defined by the particular environment.
Environment lights and the shadows they cause (see Add an environment light and shadows).
Ambient shadowing (see Add ambient shadows to surfaces).
Additional light objects (see Add lights.)

The lighting parameters provided in the material properties determine if a material interacts with the environment lights and/or image-based lighting. They do not influence ambient shadowing or the illumination from supplemental lights in the scene.

You can override the lighting for color (diffuse surfaces) and for highlights (specular surfaces).

Apply environment lighting overrides

TipTo view the parameters for a particular material, select an object with that material and press Ctrl+M.

Click on the arrow to expand the environment lighting override properties.
NoteThere are separate environment lighting override sections for the Color parameters and the Highlight parameters.
Choose the lighting source from the pull-down:

Full lighting (Environment light plus environment IBL)—The material is affected by a combination of the light produced by the environment IBL and the environment light that illuminate one particular area of the surface.

Environment light only (if any)—The material is affected by environment lights that create highlights and other lighting effects on a specific region of the surface, but not by the IBL light from the environment. To add an environment light, select Scene > Light and Shadow.

Add an environment light and shadows

Environment image-based lighting (IBL) only—The material is lit only by the IBL light in the environment and not by an environment light.
To change the intensity of the light, adjust the lighting parameters as described below.

Environment Lighting Override parameters

TipTo view the parameters for a particular material, select an object with that material and press Ctrl+M.

Environment light effect: Adjusts the effect of the environment light on the material. Enter any numeric value, or use the slider to make the effect of the light dimmer (0) or brighter (2).

NoteFor a surface to receive Ray Tracing shadows, it must have some contribution from the Environment light in its Color parameter.
IBL effect: Adjusts the effect of the environment IBL light on the material. Enter any numeric value, or use the slider to make the environment lighting dimmer (0) or brighter (2).
Colorize IBL: Click this radio button to tint the IBL environment light cast on the material. Click the swatch to change the color in the Color window (to find out about using this window, go to Change colors). To change the overall brightness of the color, use the slider.
IBL contrast: Changes the contrast of the lighting on the material (that is, makes the bright parts brighter and the dim parts dimmer). The default value is 1, and typical values range from 0 to 2.7. Enter any numeric value, or use the slider to make the contrast greater or lesser.
Contrast midpoint: Sets the midpoint of the IBL contrast scale. That is, the point above which bright parts get brighter and below which dark parts get darker.